Automatic guide push elevator truck loader



Jan. 2, 1951 G. D. MILLER 2,536,763

AUTOMATIC GUIDE PUSH ELEVATOR TRUCK LOADER Filed May 28, 1947 5Sheets-Sheet l I m/entar o George D. Miller WW 5M Jan. 2, 1951 MILLER2,536,763

AUTOMATIC GUIDE PUSH ELEVATOR TRUCK LOADER Filed May 28, 1947 3Sheets-Sheet 2 I 00 Q IO N 2 5 n 0: N k

\ Tel "5 (\i r 3 00 L on vg v-m I m/entor George D. Miller Fig. 5.

Jan. 2, 1951 G. D. MILLER 7 2,536,763

AUTOMATIC GUIDE PUSH ELEVATOR TRUCK LOADER Filed May 28, 1947 5Sheets-Sheet I5 Fig.3.

Fig. 4.

George D. Miller Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC GUIDE PUSH. ELEVAT OR TRUCK LOADEHv Ge'orge.D.=Miller;Geneseo, IlLpAnnd Miller, ad-

. ministratrix of said George D.'I1\Ii.llfit, deceased,

assignor-rto :Knute E. Nielsen AppIicaftion MayQS, 1947, Serial No.750,988

*2 Claims( (Ci. 21. 1-83.16)

invention relates to improvements in automatic guide pushelevatori'truck. loaders.

' An object 'of'theinvention is tozprovide an improved automatic guidepush elevator truck loader which will :have a self-contained; powerdriving or operating means; and may be used in: any desiredv position,or may be attached to and supported .by' a motor truck or vehicle forloading the .same.

Another object of theinvention is to provide an automatic :guide pushelevator truck .loader comprising a substantially V-shaped frame orchassis having an upwardly and .rearwardly extending loading chute .inwhichan endless iconveyor is-disposed and driven by a small engineorsmotor supported'upon the frame or chassis, saidframeor chassis havingone or more caster wheels adjacent its forward end, and "means .foradjustably attaching and securing the .sam upona motor vehicle or truck.

A further. object of the invention .is to provide animprovedguide pushelevator truck loader for use either separately or attachedto amotorvehicle or truck which will be provided with an 'endless.conveyorand,arself-contained engine or .motor for driving and operatingthe same, together with a drive sprocket wheel and pulley driven .bysaid enginev .or motor, and a belt or chain. tightener forming apart ofthe endless conveyor driving means.

Another object .of .the invention is to provide an improved guide pushelevator truck loader which will be highly eflicient in operation, andrelatively inexpensive to manufacture and produce.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

.In the accompanying drawing which .form a part. of this application,

. Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved. automatic guide push elevatorloader shown attached to and supported by a motor vehicle or truck;Figure 2 is a side elevation of the improved automatic guide pushelevator or loader shown attachedto vand supported byzta motor vehicleor truck;

. .Ji'igure13..is..a front elevation of the improved automatic guidepush elevator. or loader shown attached. to and. supported by" a motorvehicle or truck;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the vframe or chassis shown attached .to and.supported by a motor vehicle-or .truck' with :..improved1- automaticguide 'jpush elevatorfor' loetderremoVed' therenew.

an improved automatic guide push elevator truck 'loaderxof substantiallyV-sh'ape' inside elevation including an upwardly andrear-wardlyextending conveyor chute or trough having'a bottom I and opposite sidesor rails 2--*and 3,- and' a' pluralityef oppositely disposedtransversely and longitudinally'spaced dependin framememhere 'orsupporting standards 4, 5, 6 and l' bei-ng progressively longer inlength from the front standards 4"to the rear standards 1.

Longitudinally and horizontally extending framemembers -8 are secured tothe sides or'rails 2and 3, and to the-standards 4-and 5, bycmeans of thefastening bolts 9, l0 and II respectively.

Rearwardly-extending inclined frame members lz-"aresecured by the boltsis to the standards 5, and are also secured to the lower ends of thestandards Sand i by means of the bolts l4 and I 5, and'termin'at'e attheir rear ends with the supporting shoes I 6.

Oneor more caster wheels I? arerotatably supported upon a cross brace'orframe member is connected between the side frame members 8, and asecondcross brace or frame member I9 will be connected between the upper endsof said standards 5, asclearly illustrated in Figures 1,3 and '4 of thedrawings.

A winch 20 wil-l be attached transversely of the standards 5, andincludes the cross-shaft 2i and'pu-ll'eys 22 and 23- upon the oppositeends thereof, and a hand operating crank 24 for opcrating the winch gear'25 w-hich'will be held in locked position by "means of the pivotedlocki-ng dog oripawl 2E.

Cables 2'! and 23 will be secured to 'the'pulleys 22' and 2-3, and will"extend :under thesheave's 29 and attached to the lowerends ofthe'stand' ards 1, after which the cables will-extend upwardly to permitthe hooks at on the terminal ends thereof to engage over the laterallyex tending pins 32 and -33 supported upon the oppositie sides ofzthebody 34. of a motor truck 3-5; wherebythe improved automatic guide pushiele yator loader may lie-raised at its rear end. :fromthe ground, to besupported upon the caster wheel or wheels I1 and by means of theapertured vertically and transversely spaced supporting ears or flanges35 and 3! which will extend respectively above and below the bumper 38of the truck 35, being locked thereto by means of the removable pins 39and 40 which extends through the apertures (not shown) in said ears orflanges 36 and 31.

A pair of parallel forwardly extending frame members 4| are connectedbetween the. cross member 42 and the front ends of the frame member 8,and are secured at their rear ends to a cross member (not shown)disposed between the rear ends of said frame members 8. Also, transversecross members 43 and 44 are connected between the upper ends of thestandards 6 and l respectively.

An endless conveyor comprising the spaced link chains 45 and 46connected together by means of the plurality of spaced cleats 4l issupported upon the upper surface of the conveyor chute or trough bottomI and extends about the sprocket wheels 48 and 45 mounted upon the crossshafts 50 and respectively, being disposed at the top and bottom of saidchute or trough bottom I, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2 of thedrawings.

Spaced pairs of depending idler sprocket wheels 52 and 53 are supportedupon the depending arms 54 and 55 below the conveyor chute, beinattached to and supported by the side rails 2 and 3. A small internalcombustion engine 56 or motor of any type will be supported upon asuitable bracket (not shown) preferably disposed between the angled sidemembers 8, and will support a drive pulley 51 about which the belt 58will extend. The forward end of the belt 58 will extend about a pulley68 secured to a cross shaft iii and lies adjacent a sprocket drive Wheel52 which is secured to said shaft 6|, said pulley 50 and sprocket drivwheel 62 being simultaneously operable.

- Chain tightening sprocket wheel 62 will be adjustably supported by theadjusting screws or bolts 63 and trunnions 64, and will supoprt theendless chains 45 and 46, which will then pass about the drivingsprockets 62 to extend forwardly about the sprocket wheels 49.

A guard plate 63 havin an arcuate forwardly extending nose portion 64Will be disposed about and below the forward end of the endless conveyorchains 45 and 46, and will be secured in any desired manner to the sidesor rails 2 and 3 ofthe chute bottom I, and to the lower ends of thevertical standards 4, The object of the guard plate 63 is to preventinjury to persons working at the front end of the loader, and also toprotect the conveyor mechanism should the same tilt forwardly and engagethe ground.

\ From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the mode ofoperation of the improved automatic guide push elevator truck loaderwill be as follows: If it is desired to attach the loader to the frontend of a truck 35, the truck will be driven up to the loader from therear end toward the front end thereof until the bumper 38 is receivedbetween the upper and lower attaching ears 36, after which the lockingpins 45 and 4! will be inserted through the apertures in said ears topositively attach the loader frame to the motor vehicle or truck. Thecables 21 and 28 will then be released a sufficient amount to permit theterminal hooks 3! to be placed over the laterally extending pins 32 and33, after which the handle operator 24 with the attached winch gear25'wi11 be rotated to take up slack in the 4 cables 21 and 28 and toelevate the rear end of the loader until the rear terminal shoesdisposed at the rear ends of the side frame members l2 are elevated thedesired distance above the surface of the ground. It will therefore beseen that in this position, the loader will be supported at its forwardend upon the castor wheel or wheels I1, and will be secured to thebumper of the motor truck 35, and will be attached at its rear end bymeans of the cables 21 and 28 and attached terminal books 32 to saidlaterally extendin pins 32 and 33.

In this position, it will be apparent that when the motor vehicle ortruck 35 is propelled forwardly, the loader mechanism will also bepropelled forwardly with it so that any material being received upon thelower end of the endless conveyor will be transported upwardly to theupper end thereof and dumped into the body 34 of the motor vehicle ortruck 35.

On the other hand, if it is desired to operate the loader independentlyof a motor vehicle or truck, the loader will be placed in the desiredposition so that trucks maydrive under the upper end of the conveyor ina transverse direction, and the engine 56 will be started for drivingthe endless chain conveyor within the chute or trough so that anymaterial delivered into the lower end of the conveyor chute will becarried upwardly therein and deposited over the upper end thereof andinto the body of a truck disposed there-' beneath.

It is also contemplated that it may be desirable to use the loader forsupporting a blower pipe (not shown) or an auger pipe (not shown), beingmountable upon the same chassis for elevating the material fed to thelower end of the conveyorand to said blower pipe or auger pipe.

From the foregoing description, it will be ap-' parent that there hasbeen devised and provided an automatic guide push elevator truck loaderwhich will be relatively inexpensive to manufao ture and produce.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intendedto limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes indetail of construction may be resorted to without departure from thespirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is: v I

1. An automatic guide push elevator truck loader comprising a supportingframe having a pair of transversely. spaced supporting casters at itsforward end, a bumper engaging clamp disposed rearwardly of said casterwheels, Winch operated supporting cables disposed at the rear end ofsaid supporting frame adapted to be attached to a motor truck body formanually elevating the rear end of said frame, an upwardly andrearwardly extending chute or trough sup-' ported by said frame, anendless chain and cross cleat conveyor disposed in said chute or trough,a combined sprocket wheel and drive pulley rotatablymounted upon saidframe, an engine supported on said frame, a belt connected between saidengine and said drive pulley, chain tighten-; er engageable by saidendless chain conveyor between the same and said driving sprocketforming a portion of said driving means.

2. An automatic guide push elevator truck loader comprising asubstantially V-shape frame having one side thereof extending upwardlyand rearwardly, said frame including a plurality of 5 transversely andlongitudinally extending spaced vertical standards, cross membersconnected between the upper ends thereof, an upwardly and rearwardlyextending chute or trough supported by said frame, an endless chain andcross-cleat conveyor disposed in said chute or trough, frame supportedmeans for'driving said endless chain conveyor, chain tightening meansthereforforming a part of said drive mechanism, and a guard supported atthe front end of said conveyor having an arcuate nose portion overlyingthe forward extremity of said endless conveyor, a winch mounted on saidframe having a cable extending therefrom, a guide disposed at the rearof said frame having said cable extending therearound and adapted toanchor at its end to a truck to raise and lower said frame uponactuation of said winch.

GEORGE D. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED

